Correlatively it relates to a diagnostic system for electronic cards.
Integration simulators are used to ensure the development and integration of the on-board electronic and computer systems in aircraft, in particular prior to the first flight.
Integration simulators essentially comprise a host computer (known under the name of “host”), real equipment items of the aircraft and an electronic interface connecting these two elements.
The electronic interface comprises several electronic cards, making it possible to place the equipment items of the aircraft in real situations, such as, for example, certain weather conditions, breakdown conditions . . . .
This interface generates or acquires signals managed by the host computer intended for the simulation of real equipment items.
To accomplish this, the host computer comprises simulation models of the aircraft and its environment. Peripheral systems are connected to the real equipment items and comprise verification programs.
An integration simulator is a real time system, which amounts to saying that tests on the equipment items are conducted at the speed of their real functioning.
For this reason, when a malfunction in the electronic cards is detected, it is necessary to step the operation of the integration simulator in order to find exactly where the malfunction is located.
Thus, in order to find the origin of the malfunction, test equipment items, such as a logic analyzer on a real time bus that connects the host computer and the electronic cards, and a multimeter or an oscilloscope on the inputs/outputs of the electronic cards must be set up.
As a result of the stoppage of real time functioning of the integration system, the malfunction is not always visible, and thus it is difficult to find where it is located.
It then is necessary to test the card or cards in dedicated proving benches once the card or cards is/are removed from the integration simulator assembly.
There also is a system that can be connected to certain electronic cards allowing the configuration of the parameters of the cards or the reading of certain memory addresses.
This system transmits diagnostic commands in order to analyze the functioning of the electronic card and in this way to find the malfunction.
Nonetheless, for the same reasons as above, this connection and these diagnostic operations performed on the cards with the aid of the module are performed outside of real time functioning of the integration simulation system.
These methods for finding the malfunction in electronic cards are not very efficient and involve a waste of time because of the complexity of these methods.
On the other hand, when the execution of programs for simulation of the real equipment items is set up and it is wished to modify the value of certain parameters, it is necessary to stop the simulation, modify the simulation programs and restart the simulation.
Considering the long time necessary for the implementation of these programs, this manner of proceeding is inefficient.